Draconian Settlers
|upkeep_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = Create Outpost }} Draconian Settlers are a type of Normal Unit that may be recruited in Draconian Towns for a Construction Cost of . The successful creation of this unit reduces the City's population by 1'. Lacking virtually any combat capabilities, the Settlers's only real purpose is to create a new settlement for their Race, by traveling to the desired location and executing the "Build" command. Draconian Settlers require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically. Unit Properties Physical Description The Settlers unit appears in-game as a single horse-drawn cart. However, it actually represents several hundred people - regular civilians - traveling by cart with their possessions, carrying an ample supply of building materials destined to start a new settlement in an uninhabited region. Draconian Settlers are a . Attack Properties The Draconian Settlers have no method of attack whatsoever. The unit may still instigate a Melee Attack against enemy units during combat, but will not inflict any upon them - only makes itself vulnerable to their Counter Attack. Defensive Properties The Draconian Settlers' Defense score is quite low, at , meaning that on average they will block only points from Conventional Damage attacks. Fortunately, the unit may be able to at least take some hits without being destroyed, thanks to having . However, this will rapidly be depleted if they do not escape battle immediately. Draconian Settlers don't have a high Resistance score either - their will fail as often as it will succeed in protecting them from Unit Curses or other combat maledictions. Other Properties The Draconian Settlers unit can , albeit at an unusually slow pace of only . Regardless, this ability can not only help it expand its master's empire across multiple continents or islands, it also offers a measure of protection from units in combat, as many of them will be unable to initiate Melee Attacks against the Draconian Settlers. Creating Outposts : The primary purpose of Draconian Settlers is to establish a new Draconian settlement. To do so, they need to move to a land tile that is at least 4 squares away from any other Town, friendly or otherwise. In other words, there have to be at least 3 tiles in any direction between the Draconian Settlers and any other City. The tile may also not contain a magical Node or Tower of Wizardry. Whenever the unit is selected with these criteria matched, the "Build" command becomes available in the ''unit window, near the bottom right of the screen. Executing this action immediately destroys the Draconian Settlers unit to create a new Outpost in its place. This is the precursor to a Town, that can not yet produce anything until it grows into an actual Hamlet. Its growth can be monitored by right-clicking on it, just like a normal Town, except instead of displaying a numerical "Population" value, it will show a row of 10 housing icons, of which only 3 are filled when the Outpost is created. These increase (and may occasionally also decrease) over time, with the Outpost turning into a full-fledged Town once all 10 are full. Basic Strategy As explained above, Draconian Settlers are not built for combat. They will likely be destroyed if ever attacked by an enemy force. They have some staying power, and might be able to survive a battle if other friendly units are there to fight in their stead, but will still need to be kept away from the enemy and safe from harm. Fortunately, their ability to gives them a bit of an advantage here, as many units can not voluntarily attack them during combat. Settlers are used to expand the players' empires. Since each type of '''Settlers unit can only found Towns that match their own Race, it may require some careful consideration determining which Race's Cities to build these units from. It's also worth remembering that creating Settlers reduces the Population of the source Town by 1''', in other words 1,000 citizens - which can even be used to remove unwanted settlements from the map without any loss of . However, it often does take some to buy out the last unit or two, as at that point, the recruitment of '''Settlers is typically slower than the Town's Population Growth. Draconian Settlers can be seen as superior to most other units of this type because of their , as it allows them to cross Ocean tiles without any kind of external assistance. This means that they may go practically anywhere on the overland map, and can ignore continent boundaries when founding new settlements - provided that they can find areas with no other nearby Cities. They are excellent for colonizing small islands, and may also be able to create footholds in unpopulated areas of larger continents that are already settled to a degree by rival Wizards. Ability Overview Create Outpost * This unit is able to create a new settlement on any land tile that is at least 4 map squares away from any other Towns, and does not contain a magical Node or Tower of Wizardry. The unit itself is destroyed in the process, and the new Outpost will match its Race. * To use this ability, the unit needs to be on a valid tile, be selected, and have Movement Allowance remaining. If all requirements are met, the "Build" command becomes active in the unit window at the bottom right of the screen. Experience Table Although Draconian Settlers are not designed for combat, they still benefit from Experience bonuses for the purposes of defending themselves. While Settlers rarely exist long enough to gain significant , their advancement table is presented below for the sake of completeness. * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both Warlord and must be in play simultaneously. None of this unit's other properties and abilities are affected by . Acquisition Draconian Settlers may be produced in any Draconian Town - they do not require any special Town Buildings in order to recruit. The Construction Cost of this unit is . Upon its creation, the City's Population is reduced by exactly 1,000 people. If this results in it dropping below 1,000, the Town is removed from the map entirely - it does not revert to an Outpost. For this reason, Settlers may not be created in a Fortress City that has less than 2,000 people. Settlers may never appear for hire as Mercenaries, and Draconian Settlers are no exception. They can only be constructed in a Draconian Town. Category:Units Category:Normal Units Category:Draconians Category:Settlers